5.3M tune in for Slice-Nelson fight

Spike TV says 5.3 million viewers watched its U.S. broadcast of the Kimbo Slice-Roy Nelson fight this week.

The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights episode aired Wednesday night and was the most-watched episode of an original series in the six-year history of the channel.

The program features former UFC light heavyweight champions Suga Rashad Evans and Quinton Rampage Jackson as coaches and is the only installment in the show’s history to include only the heavyweight weight class, 206 or more pounds.

The cast includes a list of notable athletes, including four former NFL players, UFC veterans, a former IFL heavyweight champ and a highly publicized former EliteXC fighter, Kimbo Slice, who gained prominence through his non-sanctioned bouts on YouTube, Spike TV said.